A house painter generally uses both a roller and a brush on a job, using one or the other as the section being painted requires. The paint is typically contained in a five-gallon pail or a bucket designed especially for holding paint on the job. Both brush and roller can be charged with paint directly from the bucket.
A long-standing problem with alternating between roller and brush is putting the wet brush down while using the roller. If the brush is set down vertically in the paint bucket, leaning against the inner wall of the bucket, the bristles are damaged. The brush may become paint-soaked up to the ferrule or on the handle, making cleaning the brush after use harder and making it more likely the painter will smear paint onto a non-painted surface. The brush may slip or be knocked down into the paint. If the brush is placed horizontally onto a surface, such as a piece of waste paper, the paint runs toward the ferrule and handle, causing the problems noted above. Also, a brush set down flat is more likely to dry out or pick up blown dirt.
Professional painters must be very efficient in order to have competitive prices. They need to maintain their brushes in good condition, not waste motion by moving the brush to get the roller in the bucket, and keep the brush clean so as not to require extra time and solvent for clean-up. Working from a ladder is more efficient if a paint bucket, brush, and roller can be attached together so that all the equipment may be moved or suspended from the ladder as a unit.
Holders for paint brushes have been devised, but they have limitations. Several patented brush holders are designed so as to suspend the brush in the air over the paint bucket. Such holders leave the brush vulnerable to contamination by wind-blown dirt and drying by the sun or wind. When the brush is suspended over the bucket, it interferes with use of the bucket for charging a roller, and the brush may be knocked onto the ground or into the paint accidentally.
Some holders, such as those of Kirshenbaum (U.S. Pat. No. 3,016,169) and Vaughn (U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,285) are designed for use with a one-gallon or smaller paint can. The Kirshenbaum device is a ring attachment that mounts on the rim of the can and includes a paint brush holder. Access to the paint is very restricted when a brush is held by the attachment. The Vaughn device is a small clip that is adjustable to hold the brush with the bristles under the paint.
In spite of the several brush holders that have been disclosed, there is still a need for a brush holder that holds a brush inside a paint bucket, out of the sun and wind, but above the level of the paint. There is further a need for a holder that is easily mounted on any style or size of bucket that does not impede access for charging a paint roller. There is a need for a holder that is easy to use but holds a brush very securely and without allowing the brush to be smeared with paint.